Story highlights

Ten weeks after being released by Boko Haram, 21 freed girls return home

CNN accompanied the schoolgirls as they made the journey

Since CNN's reporting on the Chibok girls' homecoming, we have learned that some parents were denied access to their daughters during the festive reunion. For security reasons not all the girls were returned to their individual villages when they arrived. A government source told CNN that Borno state Governor Kashim Shettima has intervened and ordered the security forces to give the parents unrestricted access to their daughters. The source said: "The soldiers are being overprotective and probably acting out of exaggerated fear. They are probably not familiar with the terrain and are following strict orders to make sure nothing happens to these girls again."

Chibok, Nigeria (CNN)It was a journey they had waited nearly three long years to take.

Ten weeks after being released by Boko Haram, 21 freed Chibok schoolgirls and a baby returned home this month to celebrate Christmas with their families for the first time since they were snatched by the terror group.

The April 2014 kidnapping of nearly 300 girls from a boarding school in Chibok sparked global outrage a #BringBackOurGirls campaign on social media.

CNN accompanied the 21 girls as they made the journey from the capital Abuja, where they have been undergoing medical and psychological assessments since they were released by Boko Haram nearly two months ago in a deal brokered by an unnamed Swiss contingent and the Nigerian authorities.

On Thursday, CNN's Isha Sesay boarded a flight with the girls from Abuja to Yola in eastern Nigeria, where the girls would make a six-hour road trip north to Chibok.

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The change in the Chibok girls from 10 weeks earlier was remarkable. Their tattered clothes were gone and they were clearly better fed after surviving for two and a half years on meager or non-existent meals.

After their release in October, one of them, Glory Dama, told the assembled media that they once went without food for 40 days in the bush.

"I did not know that a day like this will come, that we will be dancing and giving thanks to God among people," she said. "For one month and 10 days we stayed without food. I narrowly escaped a bomb blast in the forest."

'Beautiful and grateful'

CNN's Isha Sesay takes a selfie with some of the freed Chibok girls.

Kidnapped as teenagers, the girls were now returning home as young women.

They have been taking English classes and playing outdoors, their caretakers told CNN. One girl, Agnes, added that they have been learning how to knit. Several have had surgery to remove shrapnel.

One of the girls, Rebecca Mallam, said they felt "beautiful and grateful."

The girls, Christians who were forcibly converted to Islam by their captors, prayed together before leaving Abuja Friday morning on the first leg of their journey home.

The girls' names

The Nigerian government also released the names of the 21 freed girls:

1. Mary Usman Bulama

2. Jummai John

3. Blessing Abana

4. Luggwa Sanda

5. Comfort Habila

6. Maryam Basheer

7. Comfort Amos

8. Glory Mainta

9. Saratu Emmanuel

10. Deborah Ja'afaru

11. Rahab Ibrahim

12. Helin Musa

13. Mayamu Lawan

14. Rebecca Ibrahim

15. Asabe Goni

16. Deborah Andrawus

17. Agnes Gapani

18. Saratu Markus

19. Glory Dama

20. Pindah Nuhu

21. Rebecca Mallam

Source: Nigeria federal government

As they waited to board the flight to Yola they appeared tense. Their colorful clothes and bright smiles did little to mask the pain and anxiety behind their eyes. Some of the girls had confided in their Abuja caretakers that they were worried about how they would be received by the wider community due to the stigma of being held by Boko Haram.

Memories of that fateful April night were surely not far from their minds and one could only imagine the trauma they endured at the hands of their Boko Haram captors -- one of the world's deadliest terrorist groups.

However, there was a palpable sense of growing excitement Friday once they were on the move. They smiled more readily, giggling and chattering freely among themselves.

When asked how they were feeling about reuniting with family and friends in their hometown, they answered in unison: "We are happy!"

After landing in Yola, they were welcomed by the governor and local community leaders. But the second half of their reunion journey was delayed as the road to Chibok was deemed too dangerous to travel at night.

So the girls gathered Friday night in their Yola hotel -- surrounded by military guards -- to pray and sing Christian hymns and songs. Their captors would have certainly not approved.

Watching them during these solemn acts of worship, it was not hard to see how they kept going through the worst moments of their ordeal with Boko Haram.

Home at last

At the crack of dawn Friday, the girls hit the road, accompanied by a military convoy that escorted them to Chibok. As we entered the town six hours later, we were greeted by a crowd of locals, many waving excitedly.

Photos:Chibok girls and the journey home

The girls leave accommodations in Abuja on Friday en route to the airport to begin the six-hour journey home to Chibok after being held captive by Boko Haram militants for nearly three years.

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Photos:Chibok girls and the journey home

The girls ride on a bus in Abuja on their way to the airport in the first leg of their journey home.

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Photos:Chibok girls and the journey home

After the flight from Abuja to Yola, the girls take a bus to Chibok. It's been nearly three years since they've seen their families.

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Photos:Chibok girls and the journey home

A sign on the outskirts of Chibok. The April 2014 kidnapping from a boarding school in the town sparked global outrage and fueled the social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls.

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Family members line up on Friday to await the arrival of the girls, who were teenagers when they were taken but are now young women.

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A military commander briefs family members on security concerns because the country's fight against Boko Haram continues in and around Chibok.

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During the security briefing, CNN's Isha Sesay sits next to a mother of girl who has yet to be released by Boko Haram. Close to 200 girls are still unaccounted for.

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Photos:Chibok girls and the journey home

A family member, holding an infant, enters the security compound to be reunited with her loved one.

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A father greets his daughter after she arrived with 20 other freed Chibok girls.

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A young woman reunites with her brother on Friday.

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Rebecca Mallum is greeted by her father, who she saw shortly after she was released 10 weeks ago. This is the first time she has seen the rest of her family.

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Parents and other family members were waiting anxiously to see their daughters again.

The moment of reunion finally arrived amid scenes of unbridled joy. Parents and daughters embraced, the pain and relief of the past two and a half years etched on their faces.